Strawberry Grapefruit White Tea from Socra Tea Detroit. . . . .

Even with the summer months coming to an end and the fall months beginning, I’m still finding myself drawn to my spring and summer white teas.  White teas were my “jam” this summer. I couldn’t get enough.  I just found myself craving the crisp floral notes that white teas provide.

Strawberry Grapefruit White Tea from Scora Tea Detroit had me from the start.  Start with a gorgeous blend of white and green teas, huge gooseberries, and beautiful pomegranate blossoms.  The aromas that swirl you while you steep this tea and bright and so uplifting.

Prepared with fresh water right around 190F , allowed to steep for 3 minutes, and cooled for another 2-Strawberry Grapefruit White Tea is a brilliant blend of sweet floral notes with a tang of citrus.  Being a huge fan of grapefruit, I’m always searching for that grapefruit tea that actually tastes like grapefruit.  I need look no further!

This tea has this wonderfully fresh grapefruit flavor that mingles perfectly with the strawberry flavors.  The white tea gives those familiar floral hints while the green tea gives off a much needed vegetal touch.

I absolutely adored this tea and exhausted the tea leaves.  The tea would no sooner be ready than I was turning around and prepping my next session.  I just couldn’t get over the fresh crisp flavors this tea was yielding.

Highly recommend this tea, especially with all the heavier spiced teas of fall and winter just around the corner. This tea is a great way to remember the sparkling flavors f spring and summer!


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  White/Green
Where to Buy:  Socra Tea Detroit
Description

High quality green and white leaf and fine Jasmine tea, with its typically unique flower note, form the fine base for this fruity-fresh tea indulgence. Whole freeze dried cape gooseberries enhance the fresh optic of this blend.

Ingredients: green (50%) and white (40%) tea, freeze dried whole cape gooseberries, pomegranate blossoms.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Forest Friend blend by Leslie Kiesler on Adagio Teas

Adagio Teas is where I credit my loose leaf tea beginnings. They have a variety of teas for both beginners and experts, but their success comes from their lively fandom blend community.  There’s a themed-blend for every movie, book, and video game out there.  I know I’ve had a great time designing my own flavors, and I’m always interested in trying new blends from other tea lovers.

My favorite summer blend of late has been Forest Friend by Leslie Kiesler.  This blend is a homage to the main creature in the film, My Neighbor Totoro, of Studio Ghibli fame.  To me, Forest Friend is tea-blending at its best.  It is mixed from Adagio’s white strawberry, white pear, and rooibos jasmine flavors.  On their own, none of these teas are really my favorite: I found the strawberry to be a bit too sweet, the pear to be a bit too earthy, and the rooibos jasmine to be overwhelming floral.  But when mixed together in these proportions, I can’t seem to get enough of this tea.  It’s magical, like finding out you have a big fuzzy, forest friend as your neighbor.

I prefer this blend iced, with our without sugar depending on my mood.  This is a blend mainly made up of white tea leaves, so keep your water temperatures a little cooler than usual to avoid any harsh notes.  The strawberry makes this a delectable summer blend, almost like sugary kool-aid, but the pear and white tea gives the sweetness just enough grounding that it doesn’t become too much like candy.  The rooibos jasmine is amazing when added to a blend in smaller quantities.  It adds some tart, herbal rooibos flavors, and relaxing floral overtones.  There are even blue cornflowers and golden marigold flowers in the dry leaf to make the blend look vibrant in my pitcher as it brews.

Top off the great taste with Leslie’s cute label on the tin and you’ll realize why it is so hard to resist this blend.  Forest Friend is always in my wish list for when summertime comes around and I need a sweet, magical way to cool down and brighten my day.


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: White/Rooibos
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Description: There’s a friend waiting for you in the forest, but he’s snoring the day away. Wake him up with a cup of tea so you can begin a magical adventure!

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Strawberry Shortcake from The NecessiTeas. . . .

I have had my eye on trying teas from this company for a while.

I am a fanatic when it comes to dessert teas and The NecessiTeas have tons of options on that front so I am all in. CuppaGeek was kind enough to send me Strawberry Shortcake to try and I am so happy that she did since it is amazing!

I knew it would be good as soon as I opened the package. The creamy strawberry smell that came out of the bag was mouthwatering. I loved the nice big pieces of strawberry I could see in the blend. After I brewed it the strawberry smell was much lighter but definitely still there.

First taste oh man, so delicious. It was so creamy and strawberry. It tasted like a latte without milk. Side note-Must turn this into a latte later.

The only thing I wasn’t really getting was the cake part of it. I wanted it to be a little bit more cakey. It was faintly there but it was more strawberry cream than strawberry shortcake to me. But either way it is now on the top of my list of strawberry teas.

I also put some in to cold brew for the afternoon and let me tell you it is just as good iced. I really want this as a staple in my stash in the future and I will definitely be looking to try more of their blends.


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  White
Where to Buy:  The NecessiTeas
Description

Angel food cake perfectly combines with a light layer of sweet cream and juicy strawberries to create this guilt-free dessert. Enjoy hot or poured over ice.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Strawberry Cheesecake from The NecessiTeas. . . .

I love cheesecake. Before I moved in with my current boyfriend and had our daughter I actually lived right across from The Cheesecake Factory, and let me tell you I was there after work getting to-go cheesecake more often than i’ll ever admit! Classic cheesecake is plain with a strawberry sauce, and while I do usually go towards the more “wild” flavors like Oreo, key lime, or anything peanut buttery, I do love me a good ‘ol slice of classic strawberry cheesecake! Unfortunately, I no longer live close to a Cheesecake Factory restaurant so the next best thing to satisfy my sweet-tooth would obviously be tea! When I saw this one on The NecessiTEA’s website, I knew I had to try it!

I really enjoy strawberries in tea. I think that they add a nice fresh, crisp, sweet, and sometimes tart flavor that isn’t overly so. The smell of this blend is very much fresh strawberries. It is a black tea, and as I sip I kind of wish that it was green tea instead. I think that the flavors here would have been a lot better with a green tea base. Other than that, I am enjoying the cup. The flavors here are predominantly black tea and strawberries with a hint of cheesecake after the sip is gone. Like I said, I think I would enjoy this more as a green tea, but it still is a nicely done dessert blend. If you are looking for a tea to satisfy your sweet-tooth, this would be a good option!


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Black
Where to Buy:  The NecessiTeas
Description

Now you can indulge in cheesecake anytime without waiting for a seat at the Cheesecake Factory. This blend is a rich, creamy, strawberry-topped showstopper and completely guilt-free!

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Strawberry Shortcake from The NecessiTeas. . . . .

One of my absolute, all-time, favorite summer desserts is strawberry shortcake. I have really, really fond memories of strawberry shortcake from when I was a kid. My nana and papa would always have BBQ get-together at their house and my nana would buy biscuits from the grocery store and we would pile them with cool whip and fresh strawberries. It was so good, so cool, and fresh, and summery. When I think of a strawberry shortcake tea, I want it to be crisp and fresh tasting…and of course, strawberry!

Upon opening my pre-packaged tin of Strawberry Shortcake by The NecessiTEA’s I smelled something really sweet, almost like cherry. I was really hoping for more of a fresh strawberry smell so this was a little different. I steeped it for three minutes and added a touch of agave. I’m still smelling cherry instead of strawberry which is slightly disappointing, but now I’m wondering if its maybe the vanilla mingling with the strawberry.

The white tea is very light and a perfect base for the sweet flavors of strawberry shortcake. I think that I would have enjoyed this more if I wasn’t smelling that artificial cherry scent…but that’s not to say that it isn’t a good blend. I’m actually wondering if I would enjoy this better iced. The aftertaste is definitely vanilla with a hint of cake, so I do think this was half true to it’s name, but I wish there was more fresh strawberry flavor opposed to “cherry”. Either way, it is definitely worth trying and next time I brew it I will brew it over ice!


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  White
Where to Buy:  The NecessiTeas
Description

Angel food cake perfectly combines with a light layer of sweet cream and juicy strawberries to create this guilt-free dessert. Enjoy hot or poured over ice.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!